Rand Paul: We Must Demilitarize the Police — Anyone who thinks that race does not skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention. And the root of the problem is big government. — The shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown is an awful tragedy …

Claire McCaskill: ‘We need to demilitarize’ — Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill is calling for the “demilitarization” of the police in Ferguson, Missouri, deeming the response by law enforcement “the problem instead of the solution.” — McCaskill, who was in Ferguson on Thursday morning meeting …

St. Louis County Police to Be Removed From Ferguson: Clay — Missouri Governor Jay Nixon will announce that St. Louis County law enforcement will be relieved of duty in Ferguson, which has been roiled by protests after the shooting death by police of an unarmed teenager, according to Representative William Lacy Clay.

Ferguson Police Chief Turns To Hannity To Handle His PR — After a long day of crowd control and reporter arrests, the chief made an appearance on Sean Hannity's show to reassure everyone he had things under control. — Police Chief Thomas Jackson took a breather from all of his responsibilities …

What I Saw in Ferguson — Nothing that happened in Ferguson, Missouri, on the fourth night since Michael Brown died at the hands of a police officer there, dispelled the notion that this is a place where law enforcement is capable of gross overreaction. Just after sundown on Wednesday …

Losing perspective in Ferguson — The popular line on Ferguson, Missouri — the site of ongoing protests over the police shooting of an 18-year-old African-American — is that it's become an American Iraq. The Huffington Post banner reads “Baghdad USA.” Lydia Polgreen, deputy International editor …

“Meet the Press:” Gregory out, Todd in — NBC will name Chuck Todd the new host of “Meet the Press” as soon as Thursday afternoon, according to people with direct knowledge of the network's plans. — The sources confirmed widespread speculation that David Gregory, who moderated the show …

Where We Came From, State by State — Charts showing how Americans have moved between states for 112 years. — BLURRING PARTY LINES | AUGUST 14, 12:23 AM — Welcome to Rhode Island, America's Least Polarized State — Wonder what Washington might look like if it were less polarized?

Clinton hurt 2014 Dems — Democrats face potentially catastrophic midterm elections that could leave Republicans and conservatives in control of the House, the Senate and the Supreme Court. Yet while Democrats face a political state of emergency, Hillary Clinton this week launched …

Maliki Agrees to Relinquish Power in Iraq — BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Thursday night that he had agreed to relinquish power, state television reported, potentially ending a crisis in which his deployment of extra security forces around the capital had raised worries of a military coup.

Israel Outflanks White House Over Gaza — The Obama administration has tightened control on arms transfers to Israel since learning last month that the Israeli military had been securing supplies of ammunition from the Pentagon without its approval.

As Work Shifts Vary, Family's Only Constant Is Chaos — Like increasing numbers of low-income mothers and fathers, Ms. Navarro is at the center of a new collision that pits sophisticated workplace technology against some fundamental requirements of parenting, with particularly harsh consequences for poor single mothers.

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